Silverthorne: Traveling the Silk Road with Bob Hinderholtz

Special to the Daily/Bob Hinderholtz
Bob Hinderholtz presents a slide show of his tour of the Silk Road tonight at 7 at the North Branch Library in Silverthorne. Among the sights was the game of buzkashi, which Hinderholtz described as 'like rugby on horseback' and 'quite a sight.'

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Bob Hinderholtz presents a slide show of his tour of the Silk Road tonight at 7 at the North Branch Library, 651 Center Circle in Silverthorne.

Hinderholtz toured the region with Road Scholar, a not-for-profit tour leader in educational travel that focuses on lifelong learning. The tour included the five "'stans" - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

"These were all new places for me," Hinderholtz said. "There were many highlights - like seeing Samarkand, the ancient town of Khiva and the marketplace in Tajikistan. The outside of the marketplace was filled with handmade items and on the inside was the wide array of food vendors."

Another memorable sight was the marble city of Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan.

"It was a very unusual city. Every building was built of white marble and while it was beautiful, it felt very stark," he said. The group also witnessed the game of buzkashi, which Hinderholtz described as "like rugby on horseback" and "quite a sight."

The Friends of the Libraries presents these free talks as part of fundraising efforts to help the libraries purchase books and other supplies. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter or call Janet Good at (970) 468-5887 for info on the series or to participate in future slide shows.